Vale Elizabeth Newman

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our dear artist friend Elizabeth Newman. Lizzy made a great contribution to the culture of the Drill Hall Gallery, first showing her work in the thematic exhibition Repurpose (2016) before presenting her survey exhibition Un-titled in 2021/22. Her works were included in two of our 2025 exhibitions, Eye to Eye: Susan Taylor and Peter Jones Collection and ANU Art Collection: Conjunctions.

Searching for the enigmatic qualities of ‘art’ Lizzy used the simplest means to stimulate a sense of aura. Her works were enlightening, radiant, porous and open. She enjoyed an uncanny ability to elevate the discarded, the disused and the overlooked, allowing found objects – cardboard boxes, concrete monoliths, dilapidated garden gates – to stand tall on their own terms. In these unusual materials Lizzy recognised an echo of our own strengths and fragilities.

As self-proclaimed ‘old fashioned’ she was visually engaged, an attentive reader, well-verse in cinema from around the globe and a clear writer. Her thoughtfulness, insights and encouragement were invaluable – providing new ways to see and relate to the world. She will be greatly missed.

We honour her legacy through her work with a selection of installation images from her momentous exhibition Un-titled.